'Taste of Jannat' discovers her love for cooking Bangladeshi Sylheti foods
Jannatuj Khan moved to Michigan with her family from Sylhet, Bangladesh when she was 18-years-old. Khan is completing her master’s degree from the School of Social Work at Wayne State University.
Khan began cooking after she got married in Bangladesh in 2016. At the time she stayed in Bangladesh for a month and experimented with cooking.
“Sometimes even if you are Sylheti, different families cook in different ways,” she says.
She especially enjoyed foods made by her mother-in-law.
“I cooked a lot with my mother-in-law just to try whatever she is trying,” she says.
After cooking for her family and learning how to make many dishes, her family encouraged her to cater. She says she didn’t think of catering as an option as she didn’t see many people doing that from home, however decided to give it a chance. She launched her Instagram page @tasteofjannat in February 2020 and started getting orders.
“Everyone liked my food. I never thought my food would be good,” Khan says.
One of Khan’s favorite recipes is making kala bhuna, a popular fried beef dish made in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Bhuna is a style of cooking, which often begins like a curry without adding additional water.
Kala bhuna, tandoori chicken, biryani, and this mango frullata, a mango-based smoothie, were some of the most ordered items. Now she says she’s taken a step back to focus on her classes. She still takes orders whenever she has the time.
Another item she sells are pitas or pithas, commonly made in Bangladesh during colder seasons. They can be made with rice flour, flour, with added spices and flavors. Some of the most popular ones are soy pita, which Khan says is among her favorite to make.
While oftentimes pitas are commonly made by the elder women in families, Khan says she enjoyed learning recipes from her mom.
“I have to be picky. The measurements have to be perfect,” she says, but her mom guesses amounts for the pitas and they come out perfect, she laughs. She can eyeball and tell if more ingredients are needed. So she trusts her judgment.
Khan says she also likes to make a popular food from Bangladeshi, Bakarkhani, a layered roti which is not easily found in stores or restaurants in Metro Detroit, and kachi biryani, a Dhaka-style beef biryani.
At the moment Khan is taking a step back to focus on school and running an online clothing store O.Ngkon with her husband. She is taking preorders of frozen goods like samosas and aloo chop, a potato culet fritter made of boiled, mashed potatoes and mixed with various spices.
For orders visit her Instagram page @tasteofjannat.